Wreck-it Ralph, 3-in-1 Retro iPhone and iPad Arcade Game

The free iOS Universal app Fix-it Felix Jr. was just a warm up game (as we suspected) for a much better Wreck-it Ralph iPad and iPhone game for the (same name) big screen movie launch this past weekend. Disney does not disappoint and rolls out a 3-in-1 iPhone and iPad arcade game featuring more Fix-it Felix Jr. gameplay, Sweet Climber (an endless jumper game), and Hero’s of Duty (a dual stick shooter). The Wreck-it Ralph movie debuted this weekend to the tune of $49.1 million in box office revenues — not too shabby. Maybe the movie has done so well because the Wreck-it Ralph (iPhone and iPad) iOS Universal Games app is in the #1 spot in both respective iTunes App Stores. The Wreck-it Ralph game, besides getting a huge boost with Disney’s own organic network of apps, has a hit movie helping to drive app downloads, and in its own right it is a very fun set of 3 arcade games. I have not seen the movie, but apparently this app’s games are based on portions of the movie.

Fix-it Felix Jr. (of course the game that Wreck-it Ralph breaks out of) has much more gameplay and took me back to the days of Donkey Kong. This version of Fix-it Felix Jr. gives you 3 lives and your goal is to reach the high score by completing level after level, stage after stage. There are cut scenes along the way where Wreck-it Ralph is tossed off the building by the people in the building, no doubt why Wreck-it Ralph wants to change his job and become a hero. Doing so, Ralph breaks out and ends up in the Sweet Climber game.

Sweet Climber is an endless jumper game where Ralph navigates upwards by successfully jumping off of candy canes. There is candy to collect for points, gum drops that propel Ralph higher, marshmallows that float Ralph up, and he has an Orange Soda bottle strapped to his back which you can use as a jetpack. This game is actually tricky and the orange soda jetpack goes quick. Fortunately, there are additional orange soda bottles you can collect to refill this power-up. The higher you go the harder it gets with breakable candy cane limbs, cotton candy clouds that can only be jumped on 2x before they disappear, and limited stable candy cane limbs make this game a challenge, and the high score is tough to achieve. Finally, Ralph signs up to be a hero in Hero’s of Duty.

Hero’s of Duty is a dual stick shooter game where Ralph teams up with Sgt. Calhoun to take on cy-bugs. This game is a blast with decent dual joy-stick controls, a little sticky, but overall quite responsive to touch — so responsive that as I played through level after level I earned a blister on my left-hand thumb, this has never happend in 3+ years of touch screen gaming — intense, right? The game features voracious neon illuminated enemies that come from all directions and all you have is a gun. But, there are gun upgrades like: lasers, flame throwers, grenades, and more to help you take out the never ending enemies. Your game board also has at times explosive items that are great for mass cy-bug elimination.

Bottom line, Wreck-it Ralph is not only a success on the big screen, but it is a huge success on small touch screens like the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch — sorry Android users, this game is not yet available on the Android OS platform. The game is fun, features local, friends, and world leader boards, and for my blister I actually earned the #251 spot in the World for Hero’s of Duty, although this score probably no longer stands, but I got the blister to prove it. Wreck-it Ralph is also a great game for parents, other than the mild violence of Hero’s of Duty (no blood), all games are clean and appropriate for younger kids — plus you get 3 games for the price of 1. Want to see how this game plays? Watch our Wreck-it Ralph iPad App Video Review for a look at this number 1 iPhone and iPad app.